Wire fabric



Aug. 27, 1940.v K. SCHUSTER 2,212,796,-

WIRE FABRIC Filed Dec. so, 1936 flat/Mam Jnren/ar:

Patented Aug. 27, 1940 assignor to F.10berdorfer G. in. b. 11.,Heidenheim-on-the-Brenz, Germany, a joint-stock company of GermanyApplication December 30, 1936, Serial No. 118,374 In Germany February11, 1936 5 Claims.

This invention relates to a wire-fabric, such, as employed for the clothof a paper-making machine.

One=object of the invention isto devise a method of. joining a wirefabric of? this nature without interfering with its continuity.

A further object of the invention is to provide a. seam for the fabricwhich. is simple to produce. I

A still further object is to effect a join or seam without in any wayincreasing the thickness of the fabric.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description proceeds. In accordance with the invention, the statedobjects are accomplished by cutting the edges of the two pieces offabric, which are to be joined together, obliquely to the longitudinaldirection of the fabric and then connecting the cut edges by welding,fusing or. soldering the same together.

A convenient method of producing the join, particularly in the case ofnew fabrics, consists in cutting the edges in zig-zag fashion inrelation to the longitudinal direction of the fabric, whilst inrepairing worn fabrics by applying a patch to the same it is foundconvenient to fit the patch in the fabric, at the damaged or worn pointin the form of a flat portion of suitable shape, for example an obliqueoblong shape, this patch being so disposed that its edges are situatedobliquely to the longitudinal or transverse direction of the fabric,whereupon the parts are joined together in the manner stated.

According to one method of joining the parts together, the cut edges, orin otherwords the ends of the warp and weft wires, of one or both piecesof fabric are deflected from the plane of the fabric, placed one againstthe other and then welded, fused or soldered together. In an additionaldevelopment of this idea it will be found of advantage to flatten ortaper the ends of the wires forming the edges of the pieces of fabricbefore they are set together, preferably in such fashion that theupwardly bent ends of the wires are flattened off from the bottom in anupward direction to the extent of one half of their thickness, so thatwhen the ends of the pieces of fabric to be connected are placed oneagainst the other the wires will supplement each other at this point toform a round wire.

The connection of the pieces of fabric obliquely to the longitudinal ortransverse direction of the fabric has the advantage that the seam inconsequence of the bending of the fabric, for example on a paper machineor the like, by reason of rollers or other parts will not be subjectedto strain over its entire; length or an appreciable part thereof butonly atv one point at any given time, so that the seam will; not beagain ,torn

apart- The seam is accordingly very strong and the fabric normally canbe torn only in the direction of the weft or warp. wires. Despitetheseam the fabric is preferably perfectly flexible, since as compared withinterlaced seams there is no appreciable increase in thickness at thepoints where the weft and warp wires cross each other, whilst the sizeof mesh is not altered.

The join or seam according to the invention is particularly suitable forrepairing damaged or worn points in the wire fabric or aprons ofpapermaking machines, in which the fabric as far as. possible shouldexhibit no or only a very small break in its continuity despite theseam, and the seam itself should not exert any undue effect. The-seamhowever is also suitable for any other wire fabric in which importanceis attached to a neat seam which is pleasing in appearance and does notin any way impair the general net structure.

The method of producing the seam according to the invention will now bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawing, which illustratesa possible form of embodiment.

Fig. 1 is a plan view of two pieces of wire fabric which are to bejoined together and have been prepared in accordance with the invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevational view showing the seam edge of the one piece of.fabric according to the line II-II in'Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a detail view showing two wires before they are weldedtogether, whilst Fig. 4 is a plan view of the two pieces of fabric afterthe seam according to the invention has been completed.

Referring now to the drawing, A and B are two pieces of metal cloth orfabric which in accordance with the form of embodiment shown are cutobliquely to the weft and warp wires l, 2, for example, diagonally, atthe points where the Weft and warp wires cross each other, to be Ijoined together along the diagonal line.

The ends of the wires along the cut line are then bent obliquely orvertically upwards (in the case of a paper-machine cloth to the extentof approximately .5-1 mm.). The weft and warp wires of each piece offabric remain slightly intertwined. In order that the seam will not beunduly thickened at thepoints of connection by reason of the deflectedends of the wires, these ends, proceeding from the bottom, arepreferably one piece of fabric in each case supplementing the warp wires2 of the other piece of fabric or inversely to form a. round wire (Fig.1). pieces of fabric thus prepared and set together along the diagonaledges (Fig. 3) are protected by cover plates against the welding flame,and the raised ends of the wires if both pieces are now welded togetherautogenously or electrically to form nodal points 4 of the thickness ofthe cloth. In this way there is obtained a diagonal seam C-C (Fig. 4) inwhich the welded points have no appreciably greater dimensions than thecrossing points of the interlaced wires. I In certain cases it will notbe absolutely essential to deflect or raise the ends of the Wires. Thesemay be fitted together end on, whereupon by the pressing together andthe welding operation a proper connection will also be obtained.

In joining new pieces of fabric it will be found convenient to allow theseam to extend'in zig- Zag form transversely or obliquely over thefabric,

.whilst for the purpose of repairing worn or damaged fabric theprocedure will preferably be such that the section bearing the defectivepoint is stamped out in the form of a rhomb, i. e., in the form of asquare having its sides disposed diagonally in relation to the weft andwarp wires, or in any other suitable self contained form, and a new orused patch of the same formthen applied to replace the portion removed.Whatever the form the patch will be so applied that its edges aredisposed obliquely to the longitudinal or transverse directionof thefabric,'and it will then be welded to the main body of the fabric alongall edges in the manner described in the above.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A method of joining pieces of wire fabric, which comprises cuttingthe pieces of fabric in agreement with each other obliquely to theirlongitudinal or transverse direction, deflecting the The ends of thewires of at least one of the pieces of fabric along the line of cut outof the plane of the fabric, fitting the said wires together so that thewires of the one piece of fabric abut against "the wires of the otherpiece," and thereupon joining the said wires by welding them together.

2. A method of joining pieces of wire fabric, which comprises cuttingthe pieces of fabric in agreement with each other obliquely to theirlongitudinal or transverse direction, deflecting the ends of the wiresof at least one of the pieces of fabric'along the line of cut out of theplane of the fabric, tapering the said deflected ends, fitting the saidpieces together so that their respective wires abut one against theother at their tapered ends, and thereupon joining the dinal ortransverse direction of the fabric,

applying a Wire fabric patch of the same form as the removed portion sothat the wires of the said patch abut against the wires of the main bodyof the fabric, and thereupon joining the said wires by welding themtogether.

4. A method of joining pieces of wire fabric which comprises cutting thepieces of fabric in agreement with each other obliquely to theirlongitudinal or-transverse direction, fitting together the obliquely cutfabric edges so that each warp wire comes in contact with a weft wire ofthe same and the abutting fabric, and also with a warp wire of thelatter fabric, and welding these contacting wires.

5. A method of joining pieces of wire fabric which comprises cutting thepieces of fabric obliquely in agreement with each other obliquely totheir longitudinal or transverse direction in a zig-zag line fittingtogether the obliquely cut fabric edges so that each Warp wire comes incontact with a weft wire of the same and the abutting fabric, and alsowith a warp wire of the 4

